Online fundraisers created for families of women who went missing in Oklahoma Panhandle
Fundraisers on GoFundMe were started recently to raise money for the families of the two women who went missing in Oklahoma's Panhandle this spring.
The women, Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, left Hugton, Kansas, and were on their way to pick up Butler's children in the Oklahoma Panhandle on March 30, but never made it to the pick-up location, reports the Texas County Sheriff's Office.
Their car was found abandoned that day in rural Texas County, Oklahoma — near State Highway 95 and Road L, just south of the Oklahoma/Kansas border, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation told USA TODAY. OSBI announced it suspected foul play in early April, based on evidence from the vehicle.
On Monday, the two women were confirmed dead.
GoFundMe fundraisers started for Veronica Butler and Jilian Kelley
A fundraiser was started last week on GoFundMe for Butler's family by her cousin, Monica Barrera, according to the fundraiser's description.
"Please consider donating to this precious family in hope that we can help lessen some of the burden," Barrera wrote.
According to court documents, Butler was embroiled in a custody battle with Tifany Machel Adams, 54, who is the grandmother of Butler's two young children and one of four arrested in connection with her death.
Butler was granted court-ordered visitation every Saturday, and because her usual supervisor was unavailable on the day of her disappearance, another supervisor, Kelley, went with Butler to pick up her kids from Adams.
A GoFundMe fundraiser also was started last week for Kelley's family, and the description states that she was a pastor's wife and mother of four children.
"As the undesirable outcome was announced that Jilian's life has been taken, we are asking for help by making any donation to lessen the financial burden brought forth on the Kelley family," the fundraiser description reads.
Kelley's husband had recently agreed to serve as pastor at a church in Nebraska, starting in June, reports the Christian Post. Their current congregation in Hugoton and new church in Nebraska posted calls for prayer and support on social media.
OSBI investigating 'God's Misfits' in women's disappearance
Four arrests were made related to the women's disappearance, each for two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree, the OSBI said.
Arrested were Tifany Machel Adams, 54, her boyfriend, Tad Bert Cullum, 43, both of Keyes, as well as Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, each of Texhoma.
The four belong to an anti-government group called “God’s Misfits” that held regular meetings, according to a probable cause affidavit for an arrest warrant.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Veronica Butler, Jilian Kelley GoFundMe: Fundraisers started for families
